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Not Enough Seats at Citywide G&T Schools

May 3, 2012

What is it about this years’ crop of kids who took the G&T tests? 50% more kindergartners scored in the 99th percentile then in the last two years. Are these kids prepping better? Are they just smarter?

Either way, the five city-wide programs aren’t enough to accommodate all the children. According to Pamela Wheaton, founder of Inside Schools, “there are fewer than 400 seats for incoming kindergartners. And qualifying siblings of current students get first dibs at those seats. At The Anderson School, 16 of the 50 kindergarten seats will go to siblings. At NEST+M, siblings will get about 15 of the 100 seats; at Brooklyn School of Inquiry, there are 12 qualifying siblings and four at STEM in Queens.”

According to Wheaton’s article: “Next year the DOE will replace one of the two G&T tests — the Bracken School Readiness Assessment — with the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. In the Bracken, children identify shapes and colors. The Naglieri emphasizes cognitive ability and children must identify patterns and sequences. In another change, scoring will be adjusted to be more balanced between the two assessments, a spokesperson said. Now, the OLSAT counts for 75 percent of the score and the Bracken, only 25 percent.”